The Legend of Zelda: Gotta Catch 'Em All
by Forest Girl Kaz
Summary: Link, a 10 year old boy from Kokiri Forest can finally begin his Pokemon Journey. Join him and his friends as they travel the land of Hyrule, discovering new Pokemon and defeating gym leaders as they make their way to the Pokemon League.


Author's Note: Hi everyone. I've had this idea in mind for a long time so wanted to give it a try. Just to make some things clear, this story will feature a range of Zelda characters from throughout the series, many not following their canon backgrounds so of course this will be a major AU.

* * *

The crowds roared with excitement as the final battle of the Hyrule Pokemon League was reaching its climax. Hylians, Kokiris, Gorons, Zoras and even Gerudos had travelled to witness the grand event where there could only be one winner.

"Let's finish this, Wizzrobe use Psy Beam!" One of the trainers commanded, pointing towards her opponent's Pokemon. Smirking when the attack made a direct hit, she adjusted her long-sleeved cream jacket before preparing for her next move. The girl was no older than fifteen, long blonde hair swept around her slender figure as she watched the battle continue. On the right side of her jacket a small name card read "Pokemon Trainer: Zelda". Below her name, six different coloured medallions and three gemstones sparkled in the light of the stadium.

"It's not over yet! Biri, fight back with Watergun!" A jellyfish-type Pokemon shot a stream of water towards Wizzrobe.

"Double Team," Zelda said, smiling when her cloaked Pokemon split into several copies of itself.

"Bad move," Zelda's opponent grinned. Narrowing her deep purple eyes in concentration, the other girl was sure she could win this league, just a few more hits and the prize was hers. Ruto had been an unexpected addition to the Pokemon League. Her father, King Zora, a well-known Gym Leader had been training her for the past few years and now, here she was about to win every Hyrule trainer's dream. "Biri take them all out with a Thunderbolt!"

"I knew she would do this." Zelda sighed. Closing her eyes she didn't even need to think of her next moves. "Teleport!"

Wizzrobe disappeared out of sight, reappearing behind the electric Biri.

"End it with a Psychic blast!" Zelda exclaimed.

A wave of purples and blacks shot towards the startled Biri, there was no way of escaping the brutal Psychic attack. Knowing her Pokemon couldn't survive any more hits, Ruto sank to the ground, trying desperately to hold back the tears. The match was over.

"And this year's winner of the Hyrule Pokemon League is Princess Zelda!" The announcer shouted over the cheering crowd. Placing a hand on her Pokemon's shoulder, Zelda waved at the spectators then turned towards the camera crew who had been filming the whole event.

"So, is she the one?" A tall man clad in thick, Gerudo armour asked a shorter man standing next to him high up in the stadium.

"I believe she is. I had a feeling it was her, my daughter has always been a powerful trainer." The shorter man replied, running a hand through his beard in thought. "She still has a way to go to truly prove herself though, if she is indeed to be the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom."

"Defeating the Elite Four then the Champion, right?" the taller man smirked.

"That's right Ganondorf, you should know, being the current Champion and holding the Triforce of Power after all."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ganondorf crossed his arms. "I've held the title for far too long to give it up without a fight, if she really is another Triforce holder then I look forward to our battle."

"That only leaves Courage," The king said, letting his gaze fall over the busy stadium.

"And when all three come together…"

"We must never let that happen!" the king wouldn't let Ganondorf finish. "If all three join together, the legendary Pokemon Triforce will appear. If it falls into the wrong hands, terrible things could happen! That is why the Triforce holders exist."

"Of course," Ganondorf watched the king make his way down to congratulate his daughter. "Triforce has the power to grant its owner any wish he or she desires. Any wish at all."

* * *

"Did you see how awesome that was!" A ten-year-old blonde-haired boy threw his arms into the air, almost punching another blonde boy sat next to him. "Ruto's a great trainer but Zelda is amazing! Her Wizzrobe is so powerful! That Psychic attack she finished with! Wow!"

"Yeah, we saw it since we were sitting here too," the other boy moved away from his excited friend.

"Huh? Oh, sorry about nearly hitting you Fado, guess I got a bit carried away." the first boy rubbed the back of his head.

"It's okay Link, it was a good match," Fado smiled. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his attention turned to the figure lying on Link's couch. "it's a shame not all of us were awake to see the battle."

Moving closer to the couch, the boys towered over a sleeping green-haired girl who had a yellow hooded sweater wrapped around her. Putting a finger to his lips, Link quietly left the room only to return with a cup full of water.

"Wakey wakey!" he yelled, tipping the water over her face.

"Ack! Link, what did you do that for!" she screamed, springing from the couch in surprise.

"How did you know it was me?" Link smiled, hiding the cup behind his back.

"Because my brother isn't as devious as you," the girl wiped her face with her sleeve. "And I can see the cup you're holding," she returned the smile.

"You missed an awesome match Saria!" Fado flopped down on the couch. "Zelda is sure to become the new Champion."

"Yeah, until I beat her," Link put his hands behind his head. "You'll see, I'll be a Pokemon Master before you know it!"

"Getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we?" Saria sat next to her brother.

"Maybe," Link sighed. "You've been able to train Pokemon for a whole year now Saria and yet, you never go far from the village."

"She's too busy training in secret to become the forest Gym Leader, that's why!" Fado laughed.

"N-no I'm not!" Saria blushed. "I just didn't want to go on a journey by myself so figured I'd wait for you two."

Tomorrow would be the day he and Link would finally be able to get their own Pokemon and begin their journey. Glancing at the clock, Fado gasped. "Is that the time already? I should go home and prepare for tomorrow. We don't want to sleep in, do we Link?"

"Don't worry, I won't. Do you think I'd be late to meet my very first Pokemon?"

Seeing his friend out, Link started rummaging through his wardrobe for the perfect training outfit. Holding up a green shirt and dark blue jeans he turned to his other friend for an opinion.

"Looks good to me but one thing is missing," sliding off the couch, Saria went over to his wardrobe. Running a hand along the top shelf, she pulled out a green baseball cap with a picture of the mysterious Kokiri Emerald on the front.

"Oh yeah! How could I forget that?" Grabbing a pair of black fingerless gloves, he ran into the bathroom to get changed.

"So, Princess Ruto what are your plans after coming so close to winning this year's league?" Voices from the TV caught Saria's attention.

"I'm going to train harder and become the Zora's Domain Gym Leader. And then, I shall return and win the Championship!" The Zora pointed a threatening finger at the screen.

"How do I look?" Link re-entered the room with his new outfit on.

"Awesome," Saria nodded. "Looks like you'll have some serious competition for that Championship title next year."

"Hmm," Link took off his cap. "All I can do is try my best."

"You should probably get some sleep if you want to be up in time for tomorrow," Saria went to leave. "I'll see you at Professor Deku's, okay?"

"Yep," Link waved. "I'll be there.

"And now, here are the highlights of the Pokemon League!" The TV announced.

"Ooh! Highlights!" Link threw himself in front of the screen, eager to see the amazing battles again.

"If you stay up watching those you'll never get to sleep," Saria sighed, knowing he didn't hear her.

* * *

_I wonder which starter Pokemon I should pick. They each have different strengths and weaknesses._

Dreams of his new Pokemon ran through Link's head.

_There's Deku Scrub, the Grass and Poison-type. Those things are small but fast and their Bullet Seed attack is deadly._

Images of Deku Scrubs floated through the boy's mind.

_Then we have Octorok, the Water-type. They have some powerful water attacks and are usually easy to raise. _

An Octorok shooting a water gun seeped into his dreams.

_But what about Fire Keese? They say Fire-types are the hardest to train, that could be a real challenge. With a secondary type of Flying, that Pokemon could be something special._

An army of Fire Keese entered his dream. Flying straight towards him, they opened their fanged mouths ready to bite.

"Aaah!" Link screamed, throwing the covers off himself. "Oh man, I'm so glad that was a dream. I think I'll avoid that Fire Keese." Looking out the window, he almost fainted. The sun was already up, he had overslept!

"Link! Are you up?" A voice came from outside his window.

"I overslept!" he exclaimed, grabbing his clothes and shoving them on as he ran down the stairs.

"I can see that," Saria replied, following him down the street towards the Professor's house.

Outside the house, a crowd of people had gathered to see off the new trainers. In the middle of the excitement, a red-haired boy stood spinning a Pokeball on his index finger. Taking off his sunglasses, he smirked when Link and Saria came into view.

"So the little punk finally arrives," he moved through the crowd to get closer to Link. "I don't know what you see in this guy Saria, he can't even dress himself properly," the boy chuckled, commenting on Link's back-to-front shirt.

"I was in a rush is all," Link mumbled. "What Pokemon did you get Mido?"

"As if I'd tell you, you'll have to wait and see!" Mido snickered. "Come on girls, we have Pokemon to catch and medallions to win," he turned to his fan club who squealed whenever he so much as looked in their direction. "It's a shame you don't want to come Saria, you could be my number one fan."

"I'd rather not," Saria stepped back, feeling slightly sick.

"Your loss. See you around loser," Mido said to Link before walking down the road, his new Pokeball in hand and fan club in hot pursuit.

"Hey Link ,where've you been?" Fado came out of the Professor's house, his new Pokemon walking behind him.

"Oh, you chose the Grass-type!" Saria waved at Fado's new Deku Scrub.

"Yeah, I want to be a Grass-type trainer like you sis," he grinned.

"As touching as this moment is, I gotta get a Pokemon!" Link dashed into the Professor's house, hoping he had something left.

"Ah Link, I was wondering when you'd show up," an elderly man smiled at the boy.

"Hi Professor, do you have a Pokemon for me?" Link asked eagerly.

"Come right this way," the Professor led Link into his laboratory. In the centre of the room, three Pokeballs were set on a table each with a label in front saying which Pokemon was inside. "Pick anyone you like."

"Hmm well, Fado already took Deku Scrub so I'll choose…. Octorok!" Link opened the ball to reveal nothing.

"I guess an earlier trainer took that one," the Professor shook his head.

"That's ok because I can choose Fire Keese," Link pushed his dream out of his head and clutched the Pokeball. Nothing came out. "Wha? They're all gone?" It was hard to hide the disappointment on his face.

"Well, there is one more, but this one is… a little different."

_Oh great, I'm going to be stuck with a defective one._ Link thought but then realised he wanted a Pokemon so much that he didn't care what was wrong with it.

"It doesn't matter, I'll take it!" Link insisted.

"Ok, if you're sure," the Professor pressed a button and another Pokeball appeared on the table.

Taking a breath, Link opened the Pokeball. A blinding flash filled the room before a tiny thing with wings burst out, flying round the room in a frenzied panic. Landing on the table, the small Pokemon sat in silence.

"This is Navi, she's an Electric type."

"Oh wow, she's so cute!" Link went to touch Navi, only to be zapped by the static surrounding her body.

"Watch the wings, Blondie," Navi growled.

"S-she can talk?" Link blinked, he'd never seen a Pokemon who could talk before.

"Yes, she is one of the few Pokemon who has developed the ability to speak."

"Well, with Navi at my side I'm bound to win the Pokemon League!" Link picked up the empty Pokeball.

"You hope," Navi snorted, turning away from him.

"Uh, is she meant to be like this?" Link whispered to the professor.

"Some Pokemon require more effort than others, I'm sure you and Navi will become good friends."

"Yeah," he sighed. The start of his Pokemon journey was going to be a lot harder than he had expected.


End file.
